* Gold hits record in early trade, silver at 30-year high
* Coming Up: Non-farm payrolls Oct 1230 U.S. <USNFAR=ECI>
(Updates prices)
By Lewa Pardomuan
SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold hit another record around
$1,394 an ounce on Friday before speculators cashed in, but a
falling dollar blamed on the U.S. Federal Reserve's unpopular
decision to buy more government bonds could still spur buying.
Investors waited the release of monthly U.S. jobs report,
which may show anemic jobs growth in October. The Fed's move
was a little more than expected, but not enough to spook
markets with worries about a worse-than-anticipated U.S.
economic picture.
Gold <XAU=> fell $4.14 to $1,388.11 an ounce by 0640 GMT,
having risen as high as $1,394.06 in early trade. Bullion,
which posted its biggest one-day rise since early 2009 on
Thursday, has gained as much as 27 percent this year.
"Once we've got the market doing what it wants to do,
you've got to run with it. You've got to continue to be with
it," said Jonathan Barratt, managing director at Commodity
Broking Services in Melbourne.
"I think the market really wants to ring the bell. I think
the market is going to say, well, let's look at $1,400."
Policymakers from the world's new economic powerhouses in
Asia criticised the Fed's move to inject billions of dollars
into the U.S. economy, saying it made any substantive deal on
cutting global economic imbalances less likely at next week's
Group of 20 meeting in Seoul. []
The dollar struggled near fresh lows ahead of U.S. payrolls
data on Friday after breaking down to a new 2010 trough against
a basket of currencies. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast
60,000 jobs were created in October after 95,000 were lost in
September. []
U.S. gold futures for December delivery <GCZ0> rose $5.4 an
ounce to $1,388.5 an ounce. Silver <XAG=> hit a 30-year high to
catch up with gold prices, while palladium <XPD=> rose to a
fresh 9-year high.
Gains in palladium was driven by firmer gold and equities
and not by purchases from the industrial sector, said dealers.
Palladium and its sister metal platinum <XPT=> are mainly used
in auto catalysts to clean exhaust fumes.
"Unfortunately, the industrial sector is very quiet. Last
week, we could see some demand for palladium from the auto and
electronics sectors, but the price has since gone up," said a
physical dealer in Tokyo.
Premiums for gold bars in Hong Kong were steady at as high
as $1 an ounce to spot London prices, with no signs of a
pick-up in sales of gold scrap. Gold markets are closed in
Singapore and India for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.
"There's a bit of selling from speculators after prices
reach a high. Premiums are more or less the same because
there's no scrap sold back at this stage," said a dealer in
Hong Kong.
"Let's see if we can break $1,400 next week."
The Nikkei average jumped 2.9 percent on Friday and booked
its best week in a year, after the Fed's plans to buy more
Treasuries prompted investors to seek risk elsewhere, prompting
rallies in global stocks and commodities. []
Markets concluded the Fed's move to increase the supply of
dollars would likely weigh on the currency further. But it also
benefits dollar-priced commodities, as it cuts their cost for
holders of other currencies. []
Precious metals prices at 0640 GMT
Metal Last Change Pct chg YTD pct chg
Turnover
Spot Gold 1388.11 -4.14 -0.30 26.69
Spot Silver 26.42 0.09 +0.34 56.98
Spot Platinum 1769.75 -11.25 -0.63 20.64
Spot Palladium 678.22 -2.28 -0.34 67.26
TOCOM Gold 3615.00 88.00 +2.50 10.92
99332
TOCOM Platinum 4647.00 155.00 +3.45 6.07
32199
TOCOM Silver 68.60 3.40 +5.21 32.69
3356
TOCOM Palladium 1773.00 79.00 +4.66 52.19
1687
Euro/Dollar 1.4194
Dollar/Yen 80.79
TOCOM prices in yen per gram. Spot prices in $ per ounce.
(Editing by Ed Lane)
